The early reaction to BT's scheme has been mixed, with some users of Web forums expressing concerns over the length of time it might take before any of the exchanges in the scheme are actually upgraded. Once the threshold level has been reached for a particular exchange, BT has said it will inform ISPs, who will then have 42 days to convert these registrations into actual advance orders. As long as enough registered users are converted, BT will then add the exchange to its "build programme for ADSL deployment". This process could easily take at least three months, even after enough registrations have been gathered. Other reaction has been more positive, with UK ISP Pipex predicting that the scheme might allow it to sell broadband to people who have tried to sign up before but found that their local exchange wasn't enabled. "We have details of many potential broadband customers in areas not currently served by ADSL, including many of our dial-up Internet customers who have expressed an interest in broadband," said David Rickards, managing director of Pipex. "This registration initiative opens up further opportunities for us to realise the business potential of this customer data." As a commercial company, BT says it cannot be expected to upgrade exchanges where it genuinely believes there is not sufficient broadband demand, so this scheme should at least give a true indication of the level of interest in high-speed Internet services across the UK.
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